Fair Courts

The confirmation of any Supreme Court justice is one of the most important moments for our democracy and constitutional system. The U.S. Senate owes it to the American people to ensure Judge Jackson receives a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote.

Not all of those honored on this list are registered lobbyists. But they are all key players who the nation’s biggest companies, advocacy groups, labor unions and trade associations turn to when they want their voices heard in the nation’s capital. The ranks of policy experts, influencers and advocates run deep in Washington, but these are the people who stand out for delivering results for their clients in the halls of Congress and the administration. ... GRASSROOTS: Karen Hobert Flynn and Aaron Scherb, Common Cause 

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” in support of the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, HR 5720. The legislation will extend to federal judges, the same conflict of interest reporting requirements that are applied to Members of Congress under the STOCK Act. The letter, sent yesterday to every Member of the House, points to an extensive investigation by The Wall Street Journal that found that over an eight-year period more than 100 federal judges failed to recuse themselves in nearly 700 cases in which they had a financial stake. The letter also notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in our Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members.  

Sydney Tellez, associate state director for the progressive good-government group Common Cause New Mexico, said Friday that current safeguards against conflicts of interest border on the absurd in lower state courts. “Judges find themselves compelled to raise private funds for their election campaigns without learning the name of contributors who submit checks to the campaign treasurers,” she said. “This consistently puts them in an awkward position of holding fundraisers with a room full of potential donors, but also they are expected to turn a blind eye where the check is written and hand it to their campaign treasurer.” “Several judges have indicated to us how problematic the process is,” Tellez said.

Tonight’s House passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act represents an important step toward reforming our broken criminal justice system. But much, much more remains to be done in the days, and months and years ahead to ensure that every American receives equal justice under the law. We hope that this bill will be strengthened in the Senate because we cannot continue to accept this epidemic of injustice. We must reform the system of injustice that treats Americans differently because of the color of their skin or where they live.

“We are in the last legislative session of this,” said Alexa Grant, a program advocate with Common Cause. “So we are the last line of defense.”